REVIEW: Ahsoka Season 1, Episode 5, “Shadow Warrior”

"One is never too old to learn, Snips."

Television Reviews

***SPOILERS***

In “Shadow Warrior,” Hera finds Huyang and the destroyed map on Seatos. Ahsoka reckons with her past in the World Between Worlds. Meanwhile, Hera searches for her friends. She and her squad find Ahsoka when she emerges. Ahsoka senses and tells Hera what happened. Hera receives orders to return to Coruscant so her command can be reviewed. Ahsoka connects with one of the Purgil and joins them on their journey, hoping it leads to Thrawn, Ezra, and Sabine. 

I’ve really grown to like Huyang in this show. He served his purpose in The Clone Wars, but here, he’s funny, smart, and the biggest cheerleader in the show. He’s been cheering Sabine on and roasting her at the same time, which is very entertaining. In “Shadow Warrior,” he similarly builds up Hera. I really like this quality about him, his ability to pick up on people’s strengths and remind them of their worth. Huyang would make an awesome therapist. David Tennant rocks in this role. I meant to mention this last week, but I really liked that ignoring his advice to stay together led to Ahsoka and Sabine’s downfall. Characters splitting up leads to disaster a lot in the movies, and the lack of Ahsoka’s sobering influence unleashes Sabine’s worst tendencies. Speaking of Sabine, we don’t see her or Balon at all in “Shadow Warrior.” This time around, Ahsoka gets the bulk of the focus. This is a good thing; after all, the show is named after her. We’ve seen a lot with Sabine, and I suspect we will in the final three episodes as well. 

I really enjoyed the dialogue in “Shadow Warrior,” and I’m willing to admit it was for the wrong reasons, at least some of the time. For example, they briefly mention Senator Organa and her ability to help Hera. Remember, Leia briefly appeared in Rebels and befriended Phoenix Squadron. They also finally mention Kanan, Jacen’s father and Hera’s lover. I hope this isn’t all they say about him, especially if they intend to focus on Hera this much. Freddie Prinze Jr. has said he doesn’t want to return, and I agree for the most part. However, the only way/time I think he could be used well would be a flashback or maybe a dream sequence for Hera. I’m really enjoying little Jacen as well. He has his father’s connection with the Force and proves a valuable asset in the search for Ahsoka. I wonder if Hera has told him about his dad or how much she’s told him. I know the show isn’t about Jacen or Kanan, but I’d love to know how much he does know and if he feels a connection with him. His ability to sense the lightsabers and eventually find Ahsoka is cool, and I look forward to seeing more with him. It wouldn’t be right to miss the opportunity to praise Kevin Kiner’s score for “Shadow.” I love almost all of his Star Wars work, but this episode had some fantastic music. I especially appreciated the score during Ahsoka’s dreams and when Jacen sensed the battle through the Force. 

The bulk of “Shadow Warrior” involves Ahsoka grappling with her past, including becoming a warrior at a young age and losing her master to the Dark Side. These sequences are magnificent, and I can now understand why this episode went to theaters. I couldn’t see it that way, but I bet it was really something. We revisit the Teth campaign, the first mission we saw Ahsoka undertake in the Clone Wars premiere movie. I think you’d agree that movie is nothing special, and the Ahsoka of that film is a whiny, self-important brat. But with the element of hindsight, it’s easy to look back in awe at what this character has become. Then, she and Anakin are on Ryloth. This arc was pivotal for Ahsoka’s character development, as it was one of the first times she endured true adversity and saw the negative consequences of her gung-ho style. Her decisions as a commander during that battle led to a massive loss of life, and she bore all the emotional turmoil and guilt that entails. Finally, we find Ahsoka in the midst of the Siege of Mandalore, the final arc of The Clone Wars and one of the best for sure. By this point, Ahsoka had learned and matured a lot. She had come to appreciate the skepticism some common folks held for the Jedi and felt their rejection. Ariana Greenblatt is pretty good as young Ahsoka in these scenes, although she doesn’t look old/mature enough for the Siege. That’s a nitpick, but Ahsoka was teetering on adulthood by that point, and Greenblatt looks about 13 or 14. That’s the perfect age for the other two flashbacks. To be clear, I think these are more like the World Between Worlds toying with Ahsoka’s memory and inner struggle than actual flashbacks. I think that’s why they look hazy; that and it undoubtedly saved Disney some money, not having to show devastated buildings and entire army forces marching on. But emotionally, it works, and I could feel Ahsoka’s frustration as she tried to figure out what Anakin was trying to tell her. I’m not 100% sure myself after the end, but I think it’s that she has to fight for her life or surrender it. I also think she needed to let go of the baggage and guilt associated with Anakin’s fall, which wasn’t her fault in any way. In Rebels, Ahsoka felt culpable for what happened and gave herself the burden of saving Anakin. But he had to save himself, and only unconditional love for his son could make him do so. 

Hayden Christensen looks amazing in “Shadow Warrior,” both his makeup/hair and the costumes. He wears his iconic Revenge of the Sith black robes as well as his Clone Wars armor that has previously only been shown in animation. Clone Wars fans are eating good. This was also a great episode for Rebels aficionados, with Ahsoka finally appearing in white robes after her ordeal. This means she no longer went on the mission with Sabine in white, but oh well. I don’t care about fashion, folks, but this change in garb is significant. Ahsoka wears white because she’s found her true self and no longer feels weighed down by years of guilt and self-loathing. Kudos to Rosario Dawson and Dave Filoni for Ahsoka’s portrayal at the end here; her mischief and humor have returned, and she finally smiles again. Now, I can appreciate how broody she was initially because it elevates her return to form after this transformative experience.

Now it’s time for some nitpicks and random things I noticed that may be important later. Ahsoka uses psychometry on the map to find out what happened. This is a Force power that allows the user to see an object’s past. Cal Kestis has it in the Jedi games, and it was made famous by Quinlan Vos in The Clone Wars. Where is Ahsoka’s second saber? The only time I saw it was in the Mandalore flashback, and that wasn’t real. Did she lose it at some point? Did I miss something? How does Ahsoka not have the map burnt into her hand? Why must we hear Sabine and Balon’s entire exchange again when Ahsoka holds the map? We have already heard this. Did Hera just sacrifice her career with the New Republic (who I really dislike) for Ahsoka and the mission? 

I feel like a broken record repeating this, but “Shadow Warrior” is my favorite episode of Ahsoka so far. This show didn’t start out that strong, but it gets better every week. Despite some problems and questions I have, I absolutely loved this. It was fun from start to finish, and Filoni has found a way to further Ahsoka’s already longstanding, magnificent character arc. I love it.